Welcome to my blog for reviewing the best Mexican restaurants and food in Orange County, CA. I intend to cover as many as I can . . . and all sorts and price ranges: "From taco trucks to fine dining . . . and everything inbetween." Newer entries tend to focus on photos more than words. Number of restaurants covered so far: 268+. See The List

Having not been to any hole-in-the-wall (that term has no negative connotation for me) restaurants recently I realized it was time to get back to some. I would've never found out about Tiscareno's if I wasn't invited since they don't have an official website (although they are working on one), there's almost no mention of them yet on the web, and their storefront is so small you could probably be in their shopping center and hardly even realize they are there. That's where people such as myself who have idiosyncratic, myopic blogs that focus on nothing but Mexican restaurants in only one county step in, uncovering and pointing out many hidden gems along the way.

When you approach Tiscareño's you find that their front door is not actually facing their shopping center's parking lot but is just around the corner facing a nice little breezy courtyard.

A TV and a jukebox are at your command:

Tiscareño's serves tortillas that are made fresh daily at their West Anaheim location then shipped to their location in Orange. They also provide catering services.

My lunch consisted of a bowl of pozole soup (pork, hominy, shredded cabbage, and sliced radishes) and an al pastor taco, made of pulled barbecued pork with lots of onions and cilantro. A whole plate full of chips topped with beans and cheese came on the side. This was all washed down with a big cup of horchata. I should have learned by now that at many restaurants a bowl of pozole soup is a meal in and of itself. I ate the taco and about a third of the hearty, tangy soup, supping up all of its down home goodness, before having to take the rest back with me when I got too full to proceed any further.

About nine months ago I posed the question on my blog: What makes Mexican food authentic or inauthentic? Nobody seemed to know the answer. It always seems to be based on a gut feeling and those who have the most experience with Mexican food have the most weight put on their opinions. Anyways, my gut feeling says that Tiscareño's is high on the authenticity scale.

According to my fairly arbitrary, almost (but not totally) meaningless, rating system Taqueria Tiscareno earns a 3¾ Speedy Gonzales rating:

Any longtime reader of this blog will know that Azteca's Mexican Food in FV (CLICK HERE for our coverage of all three Azteca's locations) holds a special place in my heart (and stomach) as the mom and pop place near my mom and pop's place. It's the default Mexican food establishment for my family to patronize, having eaten in and ordered take-out many times, but on a couple occasions we've broke from the mold and gone to the other Azteca's in Huntington Beach. Occupying the spot formerly occupied by a KFC, this second Azteca's location (a third one recently opened in Anaheim) has a walkup counter for takeout orders and plenty of tables for sitdown orders . . . but no fried chicken . . . or mashed potatos . . . or cole slaw. Their walkup counter also has a nice big color menu with big pictures of many of their dishes. This is good for people like me who like to see what they are about to eat before they order it.

They also provide catering services courtesy of their cool VW van:

And the interior here is even more festive than that of their Fountain Valley location:

Still disappointed about the discontinuance of combo #44 and wanting to try something I haven't had there before, the waitress suggested their new steak and shrimp platter:

Their deep-fried ice cream is a very close runner-up to Avila's El Ranchito's which is my favorite so far. Azteca's uses chocolate chip ice cream (good choice), corn flakes, cinnamon crisps and a strawberry sauce:

Azteca's retains its four Speedy Gonzales rating and also gets one Panchito for their excellent deep-fried ice cream:

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Went to Rubio's yesterday for lunch and tried their new Chipotle-Lime Grilled Salmon Taco. You can also get the salmon in a burrito or in a salad but it's only for a limited time (probably a month). When I ordered mine I was told it would take six to nine minutes to prepare so it's not exactly the fastest fast food but at least you know it's not sitting under a heat lamp and if you like salmon and you like Mexican food you might want to give it a try.

And, yes, they still have Vanilla Coca-Cola, the flavor not available in stores anymore, so, once again, I made my own peculiar VanillaLimeCoke concoction.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Went on Saturday to a small Mexican restaurant for lunch (review coming in about a week) and on the way back I was driving by Gabbi's so I stopped for dessert. Tried their new version of flan that comes with caramelized pineapple chunks and guava sauce and toasted coconut (I had to have it sans coconut):

I was recently contacted by Oscar from Ciudad magazine to offer my opinion on what places in OC have the best guacamole and the best margaritas. Since I don't drink alcohol I asked for a virgin strawberry margarita at Gabbi's. When Gabbi herself found out why I had ordered it she said, "We also have really good guacamole here," and I realized that in my dozen or so visits there I don't think I ever tried their guacamole, at least not as a separate item for judging purposes. Oh well, I'll be back there again for sure.

Anyways, if any readers have opinions to offer on good guacamole and margaritas in the county please leave a comment.

Occupying a spot that used to be part of the regular El Torito chain, this brand new El Torito Grill is part of the Stadium Lofts structure in the new up and coming Platinum Triangle area of Anaheim near Angels Stadium.

As with my visit to El Torito Grill's Irvine location I went this time on a Saturday afternoon with friends Chris and Kristanna.

We started out with complementary hand-made tortillas prepared fresh on the premises with sides of honey butter and two types of salsa:

The guacamole was prepared tableside and was some of the best guacamole I've had in a long time. Fresh avocados mashed (but not too much) right in front of us with diced red onion added to it, fresh squeezed lime juice, brought to a medium degree of spiciness (as voted on by the dining party), and topped with a sprinkling of cotija cheese. I like my guacamole chunky and this was definitely chunky.

When our entrees arrived Kristanna and I promptly dug into our respective dishes then noticed a few moments later that Chris was just sitting there looking at his food, El Torito Grill's signature Santa Fe Torte. Kristanna asked him what the deal was and he said, "It looks so nice I feel guilty eating it." Well, he did eventually eat it and found the eating to be as pleasurable as the looking.

Chris and Kristanna shared the Creme Brulee Cheesecake from the specials menu:

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

I ordered the Peanut Tostada with dulce de leche ice cream in place of the cappucino ice cream:

Peanut Tostada

The service during this visit was excellent with every employee willing to help with any of our needs and to answer any questions we had. All of my experiences at El Torito Grill have been of a consistently high quality. Their version of upscale Mexican dining at prices that don't make you choke on your creme brulee cheesecake earns them a solid four and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:

Mexican restaurants I have already reviewed that I've visited for non-review purposes since the last roundup include: Azteca's (FV and HB locations; a review of another visit of mine to their HB location is coming soon), Taco Rosa, Taleo (follow the link for a coupon and a deluxe review), Rubio's, Rancho del Zocalo, Javier's at the Irvine Spectrum (I was told that their Crystal Cove location is set to open in the summer or the fall of this year, but more likely the fall), Kantina (exceptional service this time), Baja Fish Tacos (the Irvine location), La Capilla, and Taco Bell (tried their new Steak Grilled Taquitos).

I've also been to Wahoo's twice and even though Wahoo's hasn't been reviewed here (yet) neither of those visits were for review purposes.

After hearing approximately eighteen months ago how good the grape aguas frescas at Taco Rosa is and hoping I would catch it there on one of my many visits (they offer two freshly made flavors every day and you never know what kind they might have until you arrive) my quest was finally fulfilled yesterday. Grape is one of my favorite fruit flavors (even artificial grape) and I can ingest Welch's grape popsicles like breathing in air so it was no surprise that I found this beverage extra refreshing. I was surprised, however, to see that it was more like grapefruit juice in color than the purple I was expecting. If the drink itself wasn't good enough I topped off my lunch with one of their two specials of the day, the Tamales de Pollo a la Canasta.

Read our extensive coverage of Taco Rosa, with plenty of accompanying photos, by clicking on the following label:

Thursday, February 08, 2007

For all you Latin lovers out there who want a fine Mexican dining experience for Valentine's Day I currently know of two Mexican restaurants in the county offering special dining options for the holiday:

Avila's El Ranchito

Avila's El Ranchito in Lake Forest is offering the following great deal:

Mesquite-Mex Coastal Cantina

Nestled next to the historic Sugar Shack on Huntington Beach's Main St. and steps away from the beach, Baja Sharkeez (not to be confused with the Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill fast food chain; CLICK HERE for info on that chain) caters to the surf crowd at almost any time of day. Sharkeez is known for being a bar but I was invited by the owners to come and try some food from their very extensive menu of Mexican food. After viewing their menu online I was especially looking forward to trying out their breakfast.

Towering Huevos Rancheros

My Towering Huevos Rancheros lived up to their name. Made up of "Grilled corn tortillas layered with tri-tip chili, shredded cheese, ranch beans, and 3 fried eggs, topped w/ avocado, salsa and sour cream," topped with Gringo Bandito and with my eggs cooked to order (I don't like eggs in my huevos rancheros to be too runny) this breakfast filled me up without weighing me down.

This was when I realized that most burritos look exactly the same from the outside, especially when they're wrapped in foil.

Their breakfast menu also has somewhat of a tropical/Hawaiian side to it, featuring entrees such as Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes and Hawaiian Bread French Toast. All breakfast entrees are served with your choice of jalapeño cheddar potatoes or ranch beans and corn tortillas or King's Hawaiian brand sweet rolls.

Sharkeez also has 50 TV screens set up throughout their place, inside and out, so you can catch every sporting event going on at any given moment around the world:

Extreme closeup reveals Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce on the table. It might be there when you go too: